Handshake Emoji

Meaning

The handshake emoji 🤝 shows two hands clasping. It means agreement, a deal, partnership, “we’re good,” or a respectful thanks. On WhatsApp and other chats it often closes a plan (“see you at 6 🤝”) or thanks someone for help. Copy 🤝 from this page to paste it.

Newer phones can show two skin tones on one handshake. If your app does not, you still get a single default handshake. It is not the same as 🙏 (please/thanks/prayer) or 👋 (hello).

In workplace Slack or email subject lines, 🤝 usually signals collaboration or a closed negotiation rather than romance. Freelancers use it after a client accepts a quote. Sports fans use it for sportsmanship after a match. When someone replies only with 🤝, read it as “agreed” unless the thread was already joking.

For a wider hand-emoji chart (👍 ✌️ 🤞 👏), use Emoji — Hands and the Emoji Meanings hub. If you need a formal contract metaphor in plain text without emoji, people still write “handshake deal,” but the emoji is faster in mobile chat.

Origin

Unicode handshake U+1F91D; later versions added dual skin-tone support on some platforms so each hand can reflect a different tone.

Cultural variations

Business and sports chats use it for a deal. Friends use it for solidarity. In some threads it simply means “agreed.” WhatsApp and Snapchat do not change the official meaning — slang is still local to the conversation. In regions where a physical handshake is less common as a greeting, the emoji still reads as partnership because of global chat norms.